Fortnite Season 8 is on the way in, meaning we’ll also be getting a new season of FNCS next month. The Aliens and futuristic weapons of Season 7 will soon be behind us. Top players will need to prepare for new weapons, named locations and mechanics as we head into FNCS Season 8.
The Fortnite Championship Series saw its Season 7 winners crowned in North America, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Oceania last week. Even the winners of those tournaments, like 100 Thieves player Diego “Arkhram” Lima, know that the grind never stops.
Here is everything you need to know about FNCS Season 8.
When will FNCS Season 8 begin?
Season 8 of the FNCS will begin on October 14. There will only be two qualifiers, followed by one week of competition including semi-finals and finals. The top 5 teams (previously 3 teams) from each qualifier will skip the semi-finals and head straight for the finals.
“We feel this is a meaningful change as there is typically a clear points drop off on the Leaderboards of each Qualifier after the top 5,” read Epic Games’ official blog, “and fewer Qualifiers allows the best teams that have directly qualified to the Finals to not miss out on pinnacle competition for a longer length of time. A shorter FNCS season is also necessary to accommodate for the additional end of year FNCS event and other competitive offerings.”
Here are all the important dates you need to know:
- Qualifiers
- October 15-17
- October 22-24
- Semi-Finals
- October 28-29
- Finals
- October 30-31
YOUR 4X REIGNING NA WEST #FNCS CHAMPIONS: @Arkhram1x, @rehxfn & @EpikWhale!! pic.twitter.com/RUhG52U518
— Fortnite Competitive (@FNCompetitive) September 6, 2021
What’s new about FNCS Season 8?
There are a number of rule and format tweaks that will come alongside the new season of FNCS. Outside the top 5 teams from qualifiers skipping semi-finals, those changes will include:
- Only the top 66 (previously top 99) teams in Series Points (2 Heats) in each region will move forward
- Day 1 will consist of four matches in each Heat (8 total matches). The top 4 teams in each Heat will advance to the Finals.
- The remaining teams from each Heat will be seeded based on their performance and reshuffled into new Heats for Day 2.
- There will be 12 total games on Day 2, the winners of each game will advance to the finals (Effectively a Reboot Round)]
- Epic Games will be making changes to Arena
- Organizers want to explore a “Fill” option to make Champion League more of an achievement
The finals format and ruleset is the same as previous years. Two days of competition with 6 games each day.
“However, unlike in past FNCS Finals, the top 3 teams from each region’s Finals will NOT receive automatic advancement to next season’s FNCS Finals,” Epic Games wrote. “A new year means a fresh start for everyone.”
How much will the FNCS Season 8 prize pool be?
The prize pool for FNCS Season 8 is the same as last season, $3,000,000. It’ll be broken down between each region as follows:
- EU – $1,351,200
- NA E – $635,100
- NA W – $222,300
- BR – $428,175
- ASIA – $150,600
- ME – $122,250
- OCE – $90,450
What is the FNCS Grand Royale?
The FNCS Grand Royale is a trio event held over the course of two weeks starting on November 12. Players who has made a single-lobby round of FNCS, either Round 4 of a qualifier, semi-final or final, can make a trio and compete. More information will come later.
Other competitive offerings this season include Cash Cups, limit-time events and the Console Champions Cup between November 5-7.
Fortnite players will find out what new items they’ll need to learn when the in-game season changes in mid-September. They’ll then train for hours in Fortnite Creative in order to be the best at box fighting with whatever new tools Epic gives them.
